Introducing the Core Team Behind the Guardian's Legacies of Enslavement Programme
A dynamic and experienced group of nine individuals is at the helm of coordinating the Guardian's ambitious 10-year Legacies of Enslavement programme. This restorative justice initiative aims to address historical injustices through a multifaceted approach encompassing policy advocacy, editorial leadership, and deep community engagement.
Leadership and Editorial Expertise
Ebony Riddell Bamber serves as the programme director, bringing over two decades of expertise in social justice policy and advocacy. Her background includes senior roles in global advocacy coalitions, international NGOs like Care International and Save the Children, and the UK public sector, with a focus on human rights and gender-based violence.
Joseph Harker, the senior editor for diversity and development, is a co-founder of the programme. He works to embed diversity and inclusion across the Guardian's editorial coverage and runs its positive action scheme, which supports aspiring journalists from ethnic-minority, working-class, or disabled backgrounds. Previously, he was editor of the weekly newspaper Black Briton.
Maya Wolfe-Robinson acts as the assistant editor and editorial lead for the programme, overseeing initiatives like the Cotton Capital series and the Long Wave newsletter. A Guardian journalist since 2010, she has experience as a correspondent covering northern England and as an editor on the opinion desk.
Programme Management and Strategic Oversight
Keisha Thompson is the programme manager, with extensive experience in arts-based social justice and anti-racism initiatives. She co-chairs the Independent Theatre Council, is a trustee of Olympias Music Foundation, and won the DARE Art Prize in 2024. Her previous role was as senior learning programme manager for The World Reimagined, a national arts education programme promoting racial justice.
Angel Parson also serves as a programme manager, bringing strategic skills focused on collaboration, sustainable preservation, and economic development in marginalised communities. Her career includes roles as associate project manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers and programme director at the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor National Heritage Area, where she advanced Gullah Geechee heritage through community engagement.
Dr Ahmed Reid is a programme manager and historian specialising in race relations, Caribbean economic history, the transatlantic slave trade, and reparations. He has held academic positions at the City University of New York and Georgia College and State University, served on the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent as chair, and worked as a senior race expert at the International Monetary Fund.
Operational and Support Roles
Ria Dalsania is the operations manager, with years of experience in charities and fundraising. At Save the Children UK, she managed fundraising initiatives, including strategic visits for high-value supporters to countries like Kenya and Ethiopia, and led the introduction of digital engagement products for donors and partners.
Mia Lundie-Smith works as the programme administrator, ensuring effective operational functions by providing coordination, financial, and administrative support across workstreams in the UK, the US, and Jamaica. Her academic background in colonial legacy and diaspora, combined with experience in public arts and museum education, inspires her contribution to the programme's goal of making a tangible difference for descendent communities.
Together, this team leverages diverse skills in policy, editing, management, and operations to drive the Legacies of Enslavement programme forward, aiming to foster meaningful change and restorative justice over the next decade.
